Passage-way-closing device.



No. 640,827. Patented Jan. 9, I900.

S E STIMSON V PASSAGEWAY CLOSING DEVICE.

(Application filed Feb. 25, 1899.) 2 Sheeis-Shaet I.

(No Model.)

llllllillllllillllilflfllllll? INVENTOR ATTORNEY No. 640,827. Patented Ian. 9, I900.

s. E. STIMSON. PAS SAGEWAY CLOSING DEVICE.

(Application filed Feb. 25, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

' (No Model.

VVitnesses.

. Inventor.

I -At t0r1*1e y.

V UNITED I STATES- PATENT FFICT'E.

SAMUEL E. sTIMsoN, oF NEW YORK, N. Y;

PASSAGE-WAY-CLOSING DEvIC'EQ SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent 1%. 640,827, dated Januar 9, 1906. Application filed February 25, 1899. Serial No. 7065811. (No model.)

To atZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL EJSTIMSON, of New York, (Brooklyn,) in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Passageway-Glosing Devices, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact specification. 1

My invention relates to devices for closing passage-ways, and especially to that class of such devices as are commonly called turnstiles, from the fact that the barrier, of whatever form it maybe, turns upon an axis, which is usually vertical, or nearly so. In the ordinary forms of these devices the barrier is rnadeto revolve in a horizontal direction and requires at least twice the Width necessary for the passageway to accommodate its move ments.

The object of my invention is to provide or produce a simple, cheap, and efiective passage-way closer of the class named in which the barrier shall move upon or about an axis located at one side of the passage-way, thereby enabling the improved device to be employed, if desired, in a narrow passage-Way without obstructing the same and obviating" the necessity for providing extra space outside the limits of the passage-way to accommodate the swinging barrier. To accomplish all of this and to secure other and furtheradvantages in the matters of construction, operation, application, and use, my improve ments involve certain new and useful constructions and combinations of parts, all as will hereinafter more fully appear.

As in other constructions of turnstile, the barrier itself may be of any preferred formas, for instance, in the shape of bars, plain or reticulated, gates, doors, curtains, or other obstructing appliances-and, like former constructions,the improved device maybe erected and used to guard the entrance to or exit from any field, platform, room, park, or inclosure of any kind and for any of the usual purposes.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my improvedpassageway-closing de- Vice in Various of its forms, all, however, coming within the principles of my invention and indicating how one or any number of barriers may be made to rotate upon' or around a sin gle vertical or other axis and accomplish the particular objects I have in View. I

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan View of a passageway-closing device constructed in accordance with one form of my invention and showing its arrangement with respect to the passage-waywith which it cooperates; Fig. 2, a sectional plan view thereof with the supporting-shaft taken in section through the center of motion of the arms therein and with a portion of such arms broken away; Fig. 3, a vertical sectional elevation of the device with the supporting-stand shown in axial section and various parts broken away for convenience of illustration; Figs. 4 and 5, side elevations, respectively, of portions of the bars forming the arms detached and showing the construction of the elements composing the joint through which one of these bars is free to turn upon the other; Fig. 6, a side elevation of the upper portion of the supportingstand detached, showing also the cam-surface through which the vertically-swinging movements of the arms are eifected; Fig. 7, a vertical sectional elevation of a slightly-modified construction of the device in which the arms are made separate and independent of one another, with each arm provided with a folding frame cooperating therewith; and Fig. 8, a sectional plan of the supporting-shaft and two of the arms shown in Fig. 7,'the section being taken in the plane of the arms and showing the manner of connecting the latter with the former.

In all the figures like letters of reference are employed to designate corresponding parts. i

A and B may be taken as the limits or walls of any passage-way within which it may be desired to erect a passageway-closing device of the character herein indicated, and these limits may be as close together or as far apart as they are ordinarily found.

C indicates a supporting-stand which is preferably constructed in the form of a hollow cylinder or sleeve and located at one side of the passage-way, in which position it is firmly fixed to the floor or other foundation by bolts a a. This stand is conveniently made of metal, though it might be made of wood with a metallic cam-surface secured thereto at the required location. Within this stand is located a supporting axis or shaft D, which carries the obstructing devices of whatever character they may be, and from this axis or shaft each of these devices radiates as it assumes its position across the passage-way to close or bar the same, the axis being rotatable within the stand to accom modate the various movements which the devices are compelled to make. In Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 I have shown these obstructing devices as made in the form of arms E and E, which when severally brought opposite the passage-way extend across it, and thereby close it until swung from this position. These arms are preferably constructed in the form of bent bars, which are jointed at their middle points in the supporting-shaft D, whereby to be capable of a swinging movement therein in a vertical direction, and each end of these bars forms a distinct arm which is disposed at nearly a right angle to the other, as illustrated, forinstance, at F F in Fig. 3. In practice I prefer to employ a plurality of these bent bars, which will be conveniently arranged in angular relation with respect to each other, whereby to present at least four several arms in the order E F E F, that will be disposed at equal distances apart around the supporting-shaft D, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. As thus arranged, these bent bars are jointed in the supporting-shaft and extend diametrically through the same with their lower edges on opposite sides of their joint resting upon the upper edge of the supporting-stand C, which is constructed in the form of a cam 0, having a gradual rise from the side of its axis nearest the passage-way to a point directly opposite the same and a gradual fall from that point to the place of beginning. With the parts constructed and arranged as thus explained when the supporting-shaft D has been rotated to bring one of the bent barsas, for instance, that composing the arms E-in line transversely the passage-Way the arm thereof next thereto will rest upon the lowest or most depressed portion of the cam c and in that position will extend in a horizontal line across such passage-Way. The other or opposite arm E of this bent bar while this particular arm is thus disposed will rest upon or against that portion of the cam c which has the greatest rise and in that situation will be swung upward to nearly a vertical position, whereby to be capable of passing between the supportlug-shaft D and the wall B of the passage-way. With the arms EE in these positions and restin}; upon the earn 0 a rotation of the supporting-shaft D will cause the arm that extends across the passage-way to ride up the inclined face of the cam and its opposite or companion arm to travel down along the 0pposite face thereof until they have traveled through an arc of ninety degrees, when the arms F of the other bent bar will be brought into the positions previously occupied by them, with one of its arms in ahorizontal and the other in a nearly-vertical position. A further rotation of the shaft D through another ninety degrees will carry the arm E which previously occupied a horizontal position up along the inclined surface of the cam o to its highest point and its cooperating compauion arm E down along the opposite inclined face thereof to its lowest point, when the bent bar composing these arms will have completely changed ends and the arm thereof which previously occupied a horizontal position and extended across the passageway will have been carried around with the supporting-shaft and into a nearly-vertical position, while the arm of the same which occupied a nearly-vertical position will have been carried around and down into its place, and so on, each-succeeding arm of the two bent bars E F being in turn brought down into a horizontal position and extended across the passage-way and then carried around and up into a nearly-vertical position as the supporting-shaft D is rotated, being locked at all times from unauthorized up and down movementsiby the contact of the cam c therewith on opposite sides of the joint by which the bars are respectively jointed to the supporting shaft. For jointing the bent bars to get-her and to the supporting-shaft D, whereby to be capable of these vertically-swinging movements,various forms of mechanism may be employed. I prefer, however, to make use of aball-and-sochet joint for the purpose, and to this end I construct one of the bent bars as, for instance, that comprising the arms E E-with a ball 2 at its middle or angular part and similarly provide theother of these bar-3+- as, for instance, that comprising the arms F l e-at the same relative part with a ring f, the orifice through which is made of a size and shape to fit the exterior of the ball e. As

thus constructed and provided the two bent bars are arranged at right angles to each other, with the ring f of the oneu pen the ball e of the other, and as thus disposed they are seated in a seat or hearing g, which is located in the supporting-shaft D. This seat or hear ing is constructed of a form to loosely fit the exterior surfaces of the ring and hall, whereby in addition to furnishing a support for these parts itallows of their easy movements therein, as their respective bars are vertically oscillated by the cam c in being carried around by the supporting-shaft D in its rotation, and in order to permit of the radial arrangement of the arms E and F of these bars, as well as of their being carried upward into a more nearly vertical position when raised, I find it convenient to provide this shaft-with the grooves h, which extend upward from the seat or hearing g along the shaft to the requisite distance with'a gradu ally-decreasing depth, as shown. The seat or hearing g being thus for-med in the sup porting-shaft at or near the axis thereof, in order to providefor the removal and replace- ICC inent of the bent bars composing the respective arms E and F, I find it convenient to construct the supporting-shaft D in the vicinity of the seat or bearing 9 with a detachable segmental section D, that is separated from the shaft properin a vertical plane passing through its axis and is secured thereto by pins or screws 1'. By this construction the removal and replacement of the bent bars composing the arms may be effected by simply removing this section D and withdrawing or replacing them in the shaftitself,when the section may be restored in place and they held by the screws or pins, as is readily understood.

In some instances the supporting-shaft D will be supported wholly at its lower end, and in those cases it will extend but a short distance above the seat or bearing g. In other instances it may be found desirable to support it at both its upper and lower ends, and in these cases it will be extended upward to the required height, and in addition to being journaled at its lower end in the standard 0 its upper end will be journaled in a bearing 0. (Shown by dotted lines in Fig, 1.)

With the parts constructed and arranged as above explained the radiating arms E and F as the closing device is rotated on its axis are successively brought down and extended in their order across the passage-way and then in the same order raised and withdrawn close in to such axis as they are carried around with it on the side opposite thereto, and thereby the device is adapted not only to afford an obstructing barrier across the passage-way as its arms are successively brought opposite it, but also to be arranged in close proximity to one of the walls thereof.

As thus far described the description has been confined more particularly to that form of construction in which the obstructing barriers have been bent bars, each arm of which served as such, as shown more particularly in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. In Figs. 7 and 8, however, I have shown these arms as made separate from each other, and instead of passing through the supporting-shaft D they are jointed to the exterior thereof. When this form of construction is adopted, I make use of the plates 76, which are fixedly secured to the shaft by screws or otherwise and are severally provided at their ends with the ears 7c, between'which the arms G are pivoted by bolts or pins 1). As thus arranged, a Vertical swinging movement may be imparted to these arms, whereby they may be lowered and extended across the passage-way when brought opposite thereto and raised and withdrawn when passed between their supporting-shaft and the passage-way wall adjacent thereto, and in order to permit of the inner ends of these arms swinging freely upon the bolts or pins 1) the shaft D in proximity to the former may be provided, if so desired, with small chambers or grooves, which these ends may to swing the arms from their horizontal to their upright position, and vice. versa, in the form of a groove between their adjacent ends. By this construction, with the walls of the grooves acting, respectively, upon the upper and under sides of the arms, not only are the vertical movements of the latter in both directions made positive, but such movements in any other way, as by the hand of a person, prevented, and in order to permit of these arms being swung upward to the required limit without interference with the upper part of the supporting-stand I find it convenient to arrange this part of such device eccentric with respect to the under part thereof and to cut away the outside surface of the same on the side that is occupied by the arms when in their most upright position. By these means, as will be seen, the arms are permitted to approach more closely the axis of the supporting-shaft D when swung upward to the limit of their upright movement than would otherwise be the case, and thereby allowed to assume a .more nearly vertical relation with respect to it.

With the passageway-closing device constructed in accordance with any of the forms above explained may be employed folding screens or blinds or otherform of barrier. In

the embodiment selected by me for the purpose of illustration, however, I have shown this barrier as constructed in the form of a folding or articulated frame Z, which depends from the under side of the arms G and which is capable of extension and contraction as its carrying-arm is respectively extended and retracted, as shown at the right in Fig. 7 in one position and at the left therein in the other. The same or similar arrangement and operation as that described for the articulated frame would of course follow the use of a folding blind or other barrier and would, when its supporting-arm was in a horizontal position, be extended, and when in a retract ed or upright position would be folded or swung back upon itself, and any one of these forms of barrier may be employed in lieu of the others, as the exigencies and conditions of its use or the preferences of the constructor may dictate.

The passageway-closing device constructed upon the principles above indicated is susceptible of use in very narrow or very wide passage-ways and requires but little room for its location, being operable entirely within the passage-way without seriously obstructing the same. While the supporting-stand is shown in vertical position and will be so employed in most instances, it may be placed in horizontal or inclined positions, if desired,

IIO

and the device will then operate upon precisely the same principles and with like advantages and effects.

As it is shown, the device may be set up so as to open the passage-wayin either direction, the arms being movable in one direction the same as in the other. Any simple form of stop may be applied to prevent them from being nnauthorizedly turned backward, if so desired. The addition of antifriction devices and the application of registering mechanism, as has been common to closing devices of this character as heretofore in use, are contemplated when required, but are not necessary to be described herein, as they form no part of the essentials of my present invention.

Having now fully described my invention and specified certain of the ways in which it is or may be carried into effect, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent-- 1. The combination, with the supportingaxis of a passageway-closing device, and the radiating arms, of appliances for positively swinging these arms inward toward such supp0rting-axis during a portion of their revolution, and outward therefrom to their original position during the remaining portion thereof, while yet preventing them from being swung in either of these directions at any" other time substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the supportingaxis of a passageway-closing device, and the radiating arms jointed therein, of cam mechanism for positively swinging these arms from an extended to a closed position with respect to the supporting-axis during a portion of their revolution, and for positively swinging them from such closed to an extended position during the remaining portion thereof, while yet preventing them from being swung in either of these directions at any other time; substantially as described.

8. The combination, with the rotatable axis of a passageway-closing device, and the bars pivoted therein near their middle point with one end formed at an angle to the other, of a stationary sleeve or stand surrounding such axis and provided with a cam-surface through which these arms are caused to swing upon their pivots from an extended to a closed position with respect to the rotatable axis during a portion of their revolution and from a closed to an open position during the remainin g portion thereof,substantially as described.

4. The combination, with the rotatable axis of a passageway-closing device, and the bent arms pivoted therein near their middle poi ms, of a stationary sleeve or stand surrounding such axis and provided with a cam whereby as one end of these arms is swung on its pivot from an extended to a closed position during a portion of its revolution the other end is thereby swung from a closed to an extended position, and vice versa, substantially as de scribed.

5. The combination, with a passage-way, and the supporting-axis of a closing device arranged near one side thereof, of arms jointed with relation to such axis, and a cam mechanism for positively swinging these arms inward toward such supporting-axis during a portion of their revolution to allow of their passing between it and one side of the passage-way, and outward therefrom to their original position during the remaining pertion thereof to extend across from it to the other side thereof, while yet preventing such arms from being swung in either of these directions at any other time, substantially as described.

6. The combination, with the supporting axis of a passageway-closing device, and the radiating arms thereof, of appliances for positively swinging these arms inward toward such supporting-axis duringa portion of their revolution, and outward therefrom to their original position during the remaining portion thereof, whiie yet preventing them from being swung in either of these directions at any other time, and barriers carried by said arms and capable of an extending and closing movement, substantially as described.

7. The combination in a passageway-closing device, with the rotatory axis carrying the cam-operated arms, said arms being arranged in pairs of which one pair crosses the other, and means for permitting one pair to move independently of the other, of means for raising and lowering these arms and preventing them from being otherwise raised or lowered, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of February, 1899.

SAMUEL E. STIMSON.

Witnesses:

WM. H. ArrLnToN, R. F. SWEENY. 

